[Exclusive] KakaoPay's 'Dongjeon Mo-eugi' Investment Service to Continue

Financial Authorities, After Internal Review, Confirm "Service Possible"
Eliminating Potential Financial Consumer Protection Act Violations Through App UI Revamp

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] One of KakaoPay's representative investment services, 'Coin Collection' and 'Egg Collection,' is expected to continue. This is because the financial authorities have determined through internal review that the related services do not violate the Financial Consumer Protection Act (FCPA).

According to the financial sector on the 23rd, the Financial Services Commission recently judged that KakaoPay's 'Coin Collection' and 'Egg Collection' services do not violate the FCPA and notified the relevant matters to the company. A Financial Services Commission official explained, "The related services have been transferred to KakaoPay Securities," adding, "The 'Coin Collection' service is available at KakaoPay Securities."

KakaoPay has been providing related fund investment services through its subsidiary, KakaoPay Securities. This service allows investment in funds through leftover change (Coin Collection) or rewards (Egg Collection), enabling small-amount investments, which have been popular among the younger generation.

However, recently, as the financial authorities emphasized compliance with the FCPA, the related services were at risk of being discontinued. Since KakaoPay Securities does not have a separate application (app), the 'Coin Collection' and 'Egg Collection' services were provided through the 'Investment' icon within the KakaoPay app. There was controversy over whether this constituted platform 'intermediation' rather than simple advertising, as financial products were embedded in the KakaoPay platform.

Despite these controversies, the services became possible because KakaoPay recently overhauled the user interface (UI) within the app to comply with the FCPA. The core of the overhaul is to prevent consumers from confusing the service provider.

Currently, when selecting investment services in the KakaoPay app, a popup message informs users that the sales and brokerage entity is KakaoPay Securities. Additionally, when moving to the investment section, it is indicated at the top of the screen that KakaoPay Securities is the service provider. When selecting each investment product, a message confirming the service provider is displayed again before proceeding, and the color scheme of all service screens provided by KakaoPay Securities has been redesigned to distinguish them from KakaoPay.

A KakaoPay official stated, "Screens for product selection and explanation, as well as fund investment inquiry screens, are all provided by KakaoPay Securities' servers. Through this overhaul, consumers can intuitively recognize the sales entity," adding, "The deposit of investment funds, such as the 'Coin Collection' service that automatically invests leftover amounts into user-designated funds after payment, is transferred from KakaoPay Securities accounts, not from prepaid KakaoPay Money."